Tutus & Cowboy Boots (Part 2) (12 page)

“Hi. This is Cadence Lewis. I’m returning
your call.”

“Oh Cadence! I’m so glad you returned my
call so quickly. You truly are an amazing performer and I wanted to
discuss what we can offer you at Boston Conservatory. I’d also like
to extend an invitation for you to tour with the Conservatory this
summer and start attending classes in the fall. There would also be
the possibility of you joining a company once the summer is
over.”

“Wow. Thank you so much, Ms. James. Would it
be okay if I take some time to think this over?”

“Absolutely, and I know
you’ll make the right decision,” she says as we disconnect. I take
a deep breath and relief floods my body. I have an amazing offer
and dancing with a company has always been my dream. I’m so excited
and can’t wait to tell Jade. Jade… Barrick’s sister… Barrick just
told me he loves me and I love him.
What
am I going to do now? Do I still want this?

When I walk into the dance room, all eyes
are on me as I take my place and begin to stretch.

“What happened?” Jade questions as she
stretches.

“Remember the lady from Boston?”

“Yeah.”

“She called the studio today. They want me
to tour this summer and start school there in the fall while I work
with a local company.”

She lets out a squeal as Ms. Lyndsay
approaches. I quickly fill her in and we begin class. Over the next
several hours we continue to condition and perfect our routine.
When we are dismissed for the evening, I can see Jade is dying to
ask more questions, and as soon as we are in the car she talks
nonstop. I do my best to answer her questions with what I know, but
honestly, I have no clue what I truly want to do.

Once I’m home, I walk in and find Gran
removing a fresh pound cake from the oven.

“Hey Cade!” she calls over her shoulder. “Uh
oh, what’s goin’ on?” she asks when she sees the concern on my
face.

“I got a call from the recruiter from Boston
today.”

“Well, tell me all about it. Wait. Hold on.
Regina, get in here! Cadence has big news,” she yells and sits down
at the table.

“Hey Mom,” I say as she enters and looks at
Gran.

“What’s wrong, Mother?” she asks Gran.

“Nothin’s wrong. Cadence got some good news.
Go on. Tell her, Cade,” Gran says as she cuts a slice of cake for
herself before slathering it with butter.

Mom looks at me in confusion. “Ms. James
from the Boston Conservatory called. They want me to tour with them
this summer and attend their school in the fall. She even mentioned
possibly joining a company full time as well.”

Mom’s face beams with excitement as she
comes to give me a hug. “That’s amazing, Cade! Do you know what you
want to do? I can take off work and take you up there for a tour.
Did she say when you needed to have your transcripts in?”

“No, she just told me she’d love to have me
up there and I asked her if I could think about it.”

“Cade, it’s been your dream to dance with a
company ever since you started. I can’t imagine you’d have to think
about it. And just think, there won’t be any cows up there,” she
laughs.

“I know Mom, but now that I’ve gotten used
to it here, I’m not sure I want to go to Boston.”

“Well, you were very wise to tell that lady
you’d think about it,” Gran chimes in.

“Yes, Cade, I’m proud of you but make sure
you pick the school for you and not anyone else,” she says, and I
know she means I can’t make my decision based on Barrick. “And,
don’t take too long, you don’t have much time to give them an
answer.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I say and head to my room to
change.

I decide not to tell Barrick about the call
just yet. I just want to enjoy the free time I have with him in
between school and working on my routine for the competition this
weekend. Mom and Gran haven’t asked any more questions about
Boston, and I’ve decided not to stress over it until next week.

Thursday night I ask Mom if I can ditch
school Friday. “Mom, I’ve got to be ready for the stage by three so
by the time I get to school, I’ll have to turn around and leave to
get there in time. I don’t have any tests. Please?” I beg her.

She looks at me, “Fine, but you still need
to help around the farm before we leave.” I give her a quick hug
and thank her before I go to my room to go to bed.

Friday morning I wake up at the normal time
to help on the farm, spend a little extra time with Daisy and
Barrick, and enjoy breakfast with him before we have to leave for
Asheville.

As we approach the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium,
my mind floats to the day Barrick brought me to this town. It was a
perfect day with the most perfect guy I know. I’m not sure how I’m
going to tell him about Boston but I push the thought aside because
I haven’t even decided what I want to do yet. Once inside, we make
our way to the dressing room, run through our duet, and take the
stage.

Barrick couldn’t come today because Daisy is
super close to delivering and he insisted that Gran come with me.
Gran has seen me perform over the years, but now that she can go to
all of my competitions it’s great. Mom finally has someone to sit
with while she waits for me to perform. Dad couldn’t always come to
my recitals and it makes my heart melt that Barrick realizes how
important it is for me to have family with me. I love to hear her
smart-ass comments about other dancer’s costumes and performances,
but most of all I love having her watch me. She’s got a good eye
and always tells me how I can tweak something or show more emotion.
I’m starting to believe that she has a dance secret she’s not
sharing.

Once awards have been conducted, we go out
to eat with Jade and her family to a local brewery. The adults all
take part in a cold beverage while Jade and I have virgin daiquiris
for fun. I text Barrick and let him know that I’ll call him once we
finish.

While we eat, Gran gives her opinion on
several others performers. “Did y’all see that piece of cloth they
called a costume on that one group? Cadence if you ever come out in
something like that, I’m gonna march myself up there and yank you
off the stage and then I’m going to ask Ms. Lyndsay if she’s lost
her damn mind. Not to mention, they were shaking their bodies like
they were having a seizure. I don’t know how those boobs didn’t pop
out.” Jade and I begin to laugh.

“Mother!” Mom exclaims.

“Well, it’s the truth. They don’t need to do
all that booty shaking. Leave something to the imagination.”

“Gran! That’s part of it,” I state.

“Oh yeah? Well, let me just say that the
afternoon Barrick saw you moving like that to that Julio, I saw his
eyes get as big as a house.”

I spew the strawberry substance across the
table at Jade. Grabbing a napkin, I wipe my face and the table
before I turn to her.

“Gran! He did not!” I say as I see Mr.
Carpenter whisper to Mrs. Carpenter.

“Oh yes he did, honey. Sorry y’all,” she
says to his parents as they nod in acceptance. “Back in my day, we
did the Jitterbug and the Charleston. That was real dancin’. Not
shaking your ass like a salt shaker.”

“Mother!” Mom scolds with a look but then
starts to laugh herself. We all laugh with her. Gran shrugs and
takes another pull on her beer. This is why I love my gran. She
doesn’t give a shit what others think. I hope and pray that I can
become more like her, but don’t tell her I said that.

Barrick

Waiting for Cadence to call
feels like an eternity. I know they did great, but I want to hear
her voice. When my phone chirps, I think it’s her but it’s a text
from my sister telling me that a nice long conversation with Mom
and Dad is coming my way. I rack my brain trying to figure out what
I did wrong. When I text her back asking why, she doesn’t care to
elaborate.
Great!
She knows I’ll drive myself nuts until they get
home.

My phone rings at nine and Cadence’s picture
lights up on the screen. I smile as I answer.

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Hey, bug eyes,” she states with a
laugh.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Does this
have something to do with the text I got from Jade?”

“Let’s just say Gran outed you at dinner
tonight. Something about you having eyes the size of a house when I
was dancing to Jason Derulo.”

“You’re kiddin’ right?” I say a silent
prayer that she is.

“Nope. She was talking about those girls
shaking their booties on stage and threw you under the bus.”

“Shit.”

“Oh my my! Did Barrick Carpenter just use a
swear word?” She giggles.

“Hell yeah I did! I’ve avoided this talk
with my folks for a long time. I am almost nineteen years old and
going to get the sex talk.”

She gets quiet for a minute
then says, “You never had
the
talk
? What’s wrong with your parents? They
could be grandparents if they didn’t explain how that
works.”

She’s killing me. I was not
going to have a baby. They didn’t have to tell me. I learned enough
in school and from my friends.
Wrap that
before you tap that
, but I’m not that kind
of guy anyway. “Nope. I was the kid that basically told them I
didn’t need to hear it. I’m responsible and learned everything I
needed to know in that god-awful class in fifth grade. Once was
enough for me.”

She begins to laugh harder. “I thought
everyone had that miserable conversation with their parents. Let’s
just say I asked my mom a lot of questions. She caught on that I
was being a smart-ass and trying to embarrass her so she quickly
turned the tables on me. Anyway, how’s Daisy?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. It could be any
day, and she’s showing signs. I thought about camping out at the
barn tonight, but changed my mind.”

“Why don’t you stay in our house?” she asks
and it’s a sweet gesture, but knowing that she’s sleeping in the
next room, I’ll never get any sleep.

“I couldn’t do that. I’m going to check on
her again before bed and then extra early in the morning. If things
look good, I might try and catch one of your groups tomorrow.”

“I’d love that, but don’t
leave my Daisy. I’d hate for her to deliver without someone
there.”
She called her ‘my Daisy.’ I think
my heart just skipped a beat. She’s going to go country one of
these days; I know it.

“I know. I’d just love to see you on stage,”
I say with a smile.

“Oh, I know you love to watch me dance, bug
eyes,” she says as she laughs hysterically and I have to laugh with
her. When she finally recovers, she says, “Don’t worry, I’ll have
more.”

“Oh, I know. Remember, I’ve been a dance
brother for too long.”

“So, is having a dance girlfriend better
than a dance sister?”

“Oh yeah. It’s definitely better.”

“I think you better stay at home, hot stuff,
or I can guarantee Gran will out you again tomorrow. I’ve got hip
hop at two twelve.”

“Guess you’re right. Well, good luck
tomorrow, beautiful,” I say before hanging up.

“Hey Barrick?” she calls out.

“Yeah?” I reply.

“It doesn’t feel right being in this town
without you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Every time I turn around, I see something
that reminds me of our day here. It doesn’t feel right walking
these streets without you. This is where I was when I first knew
you cared and that you wanted to give me a chance to find
myself.”

When she says that out loud, I know that
this is real. She’s real. We’re real, and I freakin’ love her.

“Cadence, I’d give everything I have in this
world to make you the happiest girl in the world. I love you.”

It’s as if it catches her off guard. We know
how we feel, we’ve said it a few times, but don’t overuse it, and
that’s why it always feels like the first time. When we say it, we
mean it.

“I love you too,” she says as I hear voices
in the background. “I hate to have to cut it short but Mom’s kinda
crazy about me getting rest on these days.”

“I understand. I need to go to the barn
anyways.”

We disconnect and my heart soars but quickly
falls. She loves me and I know she’s the one for me but having to
spend time apart kills me.

Chapter 20

Cadence

Saturday morning we wake up and eat a
fabulous continental breakfast. Who am I kidding? It tastes like a
piece of cardboard with a side of rubbery eggs. Mom and Gran must
feel the same way, based on the look on their faces.

“This shit’s horrible!”
Gran exclaims as she stands.
Oh shit.
She’s going to give someone an earful.

I quietly slide down in my seat and Mom
begins to laugh. “Get used to it, Cade. She’s never going to
change, and you’ll thank her one day.”

“Or I’ll be like her one day.” Mom starts to
laugh and before I know it, Gran comes back to the table with a
fresh cup of coffee, a gift card to Cracker Barrel, and a discount
on our next stay. I look at Mom and she smiles.

“Come on girls. Let’s get us a real
breakfast! I need blueberry pancakes, stat.”

We quickly dispose of our food, then I check
my dance bag for the third time, and the three of us make a short
trip to Cracker Barrel. Thank goodness for a late arrival time.

I’ve never been to a
Cracker Barrel before and when we walk into the lobby it looks like
we stepped back in time.
What is that
awful stench?
Soon I realize it’s a fire
burning in the fireplace and my nose hates it because I begin to
sneeze. Thankfully we are seated near a window and not the
fireplace. I stare at the menu trying to decide what to eat. There
are several healthy options, but blueberry pancakes do sound
amazing.